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Mung Bean Liquorice Soup

Traditionally used to clear summer heat and help the body clear toxins

In short: Mung Bean Liquorice Soup is a soup that Traditionally used to clear summer heat and help the body clear toxins. It is most often made for cooling & summer heat, everyday balance. Total time about 45 min. Key ingredients: mung bean.

By · Published under our editorial policy · Research library

Prep
5 min
Cook
40 min
Total
45 min
Makes
1.2 L
Cooling & Summer HeatEveryday Balance
Mung Bean Liquorice Soup

Why people make this soup

On a sweltering summer day, Nourilo finds 300 ml of mung bean soup wonderfully cooling — mung bean is a classic summer ingredient, traditionally used to clear heat, ease toxins and drain water. Paired with liquorice and simmered as a tea, it is traditionally regarded as helping the body clear a range of plant-based toxins. Nourilo once knew someone who ate a slightly green-skinned potato and felt their mouth go numb with chest tightness and nausea; on his suggestion they sipped mung bean and liquorice water and the discomfort eased after a couple of bowls. Still — if you’ve eaten or absorbed too much of anything toxic, you must go to hospital. Never take a risk.

What studies say about the key ingredients

Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.

  • Mung beans · Randomized crossover trial, 20 participants · 2019
    Breath hydrogen and methane were higher after wheat than after rice or mung bean noodles. Bloating scores after mung bean did not differ significantly from wheat, and mung bean produced gas levels similar to rice.Limitation: Small sample of 20 patients, with single meals tested rather than habitual intake, so longer-term effects of mung bean on symptoms are unknown.PubMed 31484315 · 1 more mung beans study
  • Licorice root · Randomized controlled trial, 66 participants · 2024
    Compared with placebo plus the same low-calorie diet, licorice extract was associated with greater improvements in body weight, BMI, body fat, lipid profile, fasting glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR at 8 weeks.Limitation: Small sample, short 8-week duration, and an extract dose that is not comparable to licorice eaten as food; the authors call for confirmatory research.PubMed 39080737 · 3 more licorice root studies

From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.

Safety first — read before you cook

This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:

  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
  • take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
  • have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.

Ingredient notes for this recipe

  • Licorice root: Contains glycyrrhizin. Large amounts or long-term use have been linked to raised blood pressure and irregular heartbeat, and even smaller amounts have caused problems in people with high blood pressure, heart or kidney conditions, or a high-salt diet. Large amounts are unsafe in pregnancy, and it can interact with corticosteroids. Source: NIH NCCIH — Licorice Root

Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes

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